Raised Grain?

[Mark Rios]

First of all, thanks to all those who have provided information and advice on my cutting/bread board projects. Pics are comming shortly (I promise).

On one of them though, the lady using it duly wiped it with only a damp (water only) cloth after using it. However, after a couple of wipings the mineral oil seems to be leaving and the grain has raised in those areas. Did I do something wrong? Was I supposed to pre-dampen to raise grain and then sand it down before I put the mineral oil? I put two coats of mineral oil on per the instructions on the can and per the help I was provided here. It wasn't used for 7 or 8 days after mineral oil application.

This is my 83 year old neighbor lady and she is thrilled with the board over her 20+ y.o. plywood one and she is not complaining about it; I am the one who has noticed it and I don't know what to do about it. Any help that you can provide would, of course, be of grerat help and appreciated. Thanks very much.

[Chris Padilla]

Raising the grain purposely and then gently scraping or sanding off the fibers after drying is a common practice. I would just resand or scrape (plane?) the board. Mist it with water again and wait for it to dry to see if you need to hit it again. Once satisfied, apply the mineral oil and you should be good to go.

[Todd Burch]

What flavor wood(s) did you use for the board?

[Mark Rios]

Sorry Todd, i tried to think of everything that i should include and I left out one of the most important things (I am such a bonehead sometimes)....on one I used just Walnut and Hard Maple, On the other I used wWhite Oak, Walnut, Hard Maple, and Purple Heart. Thanks for asking.....

[Todd Burch]

Are any of the woods grain-raising more than others? For instance, are the open pored woods (white oak, walnut, purpleheart) raising more than the closed grain wood (maple)?

I don't think you'll ever be able to keep a perfectly smooth surface, especially on the open grained woods. This may be why you see a lot of cutting boards out of maple, birch and beech - all closed grain woods. Perhaps after several months of service it won't be so severe.

[Terry Quiram]

Don't just wipe on the mineral oil give it a real good long soaking. Then do it again a couple of weeks later. She will have to reapply the oil periodically. Lay it on heavy, let it set for 1/2 hour and wipe off the excess and you are done.

Terry

[Steve Clardy]

Apply your mineral oil again, wipe it off, and use automotive sand paper, the black wet/dry stuff, and sand it wet.
Steve